![]() ![]() Simile: “with all their conforming smiles/ like a fixed portrait,” and “shows only my teeth like a snake’s bare fangs?”.Metaphor: Okara uses several metaphors in this poem such as “ice-block-cold eyes,” “homeface,” “officeface,” etc.The words “shake hands” are repeated there. A similar scheme also goes for the following stanza. Repetition: In the first stanza, the word “laugh” is repeated for the sake of emphasis.Enjambment: It occurs throughout the text For example: “they used to laugh with their hearts/ and laugh with their eyes”.Okara’s poem ‘Once Upon a Time’ contains the following literary devices that are not limited to the devices mentioned below: Apart from that, the poem is mostly composed of the iambic meter with some metrical variations. In some instances, readers can find rhyming but they don’t occur in a regular fashion. ![]() As the text does not contain a specific rhyming scheme, it is a free verse poem. This poem is written from the point of view of a first-person speaker. The lines are segregated according to the subject matter. Each stanza does not contain a specific line count. This poem consists of 43 lines that are separated into seven stanzas. He wants to be a child again like his son and relearn the art of innocence and pure happiness. Thinking about such things, the speaker becomes so sad that he somehow wants to unlearn such void customs. Lastly, at the time of parting, they wear a fake smile again and bid each other hiding their selfish emotions. Verbally they welcome their closed ones, but mentally they keep their doors closed on them. ![]() Firstly, they greet their relatives or known ones with fake smiles. ![]() The speaker of this poem tells his son how people react in those given situations. This poem begins with a series of three images: greeting someone, welcoming them to their house, and saying goodbye. The father describes how the art of greeting one another has transformed into a mere give-and-take of fake smiles. ‘Once Upon a Time’ by Gabriel Okara presents a conversation between a father and son. ![]()
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